LIVE REVIEW, PHOTOS: Yellowcard’s Final World Tour

The American pop-punk band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1997, YELLOWCARD, is saying goodbye with a Final World Tour. Yes you read that right. The band we all know and love for hits like “Ocean Avenue”, “Only One” and “Here I Am Alive” released their final self-titled album this year, Yellowcard, and announced their Final World Tour after 20 joyous years making music. The final lineup consists of Ryan Key on lead vocals and guitar, Sean Mackin on violin and vocals, Ryan Mendez holding down lead guitar and backing vocals, and Josh Portman on bass.

Statement from the band: “When saying farewell, it is hard to know where to start, especially when there are so many reasons not to say it, but the time has come to share this news, after countless discussions and months of thought, we have decided that it is time for Yellowcard to come to an end. This will be our last album and our final world tour.”

On Tuesday, November 15th, Yellowcard played a sold out Baltimore Soundstage. Baltimore Soundstage is a one level mid-size venue located in the heart of downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The place was packed to maximum capacity, aka nuts to butts, and the crowd was almost as loud as the band as they sang along. The band opened their twenty-four song set with 2003 hit “Believe” followed by songs off their 2016 farewell album such as “Rest In Peace” and “What Appears”. Between songs, lead singer Ryan Key took time to talk to the crowd and at times things got emotional when he shared how difficult the decision was for Yellowcard to call it quits and tough times with his family since Ryan’s aunt passed recently due to brain cancer. I walked past fans covering their mouths and shedding tears in silence. There’s no question that so many people connect with the band on a personal level and Yellowcard will be missed dearly. The music sounded mesmerizing and aside from a few emotional breaks, fans were jumping, screaming, singing and crowd surfing like you would expect at a pop-punk concert. The band delivered a high energy, attention-grabbing set and they ended the show with a two song encore performing fan favorites “Only One” and “Ocean Avenue”. Yellowcard continues their final shows at many locations worldwide, concluding March 25, 2017 in Anaheim, California.